J. Zidell, VP Hyatt Gold Passport

Dear Flyertalkers,

All of us at Hyatt are deeply saddened by the tragic destruction left by the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25. To support the immediate care and long-term recovery of the affected communities, Hyatt is donating $100,000 USD.

If you would like to support the response efforts, please consider donating your Hyatt Gold Passport® points. Each 5,000 point donation results in a $25 USD gift to Mercy Corps.

To donate your points, please call Hyatt Gold Passport Customer Service toll free at +1.800.228.3360 in the U.S. and Canada or +1.402.593.8615 when outside the U.S. and Canada. To make a cash donation, please visit Hyatt’s Mercy Corps donation page at http://www.mercycorps.org/hyatt.

We thank you for generously partnering with Hyatt and Mercy Corps to rebuild communities where our associates, guests and neighbors have been affected by this disaster.

Warm regards,

Jeff Zidell
Senior Vice President
Hyatt Gold Passport

SanDiego1K

Jeff, my memories of Kathmandu are entwined with my stay at the Hyatt Kathmandu and the wonderful staff who took excellent care of us. Since the tragedy, I have been wondering about the hotel and the staff. How is your team? And what is the condition of the hotel? I can imagine if that it is in good order, it will be a very essential part of relief efforts by housing many emergency response teams.

ysolde

I don't have Hyatt points, but am about to make a cash donation. Your compassion and willingness to help others in this tragedy has touched me, sincerely.

J. Zidell, VP Hyatt Gold Passport

The staff at the hotel has worked tirelessly since the quake struck to support guests, colleagues and neighbors. Confirming everyone’s whereabouts was the first priority, followed by ensuring their safety. The next step was doing what they could to help guests get home, so that staff could start to focus more on the relief effort. The hotel is also readying support for colleagues and their families.

Hyatt Regency Kathmandu has not been certified yet to be structurally sound, and the property has no electricity or running water. Despite that, associates are working tirelessly with engineers to ensure the building is safe because Hyatt Regency Kathmandu is preparing to host several of the international relief organizations responding to the quake, allowing them to use the hotel and its facilities as a base for their operations.

J. Zidell, VP Hyatt Gold Passport

Thank you! Your generosity is much appreciated, and we are truly inspired by your actions.

SanDiego1K

Thank you, Jeff, that is much appreciated. I had searched and searched for information about the hotel and its staff with no success. Coverage has been frustratingly insufficient in the US. I'll be making a donation using the Hyatt link for the beautiful people of Nepal who are suffering so severely.

Football Fan

Made a donation through the link provided by Jeff.

azepine00

Not to be cynical here but if i but 5000 pt from GP it's $120 but if i donate them it's $25.

I really really want to believe that companies (and this is not limited to hyatt) are not trying to write off mile/point liability (and claim tax deduction) by taking advantage of tragedies...

For now i ll continue contributing cash...

Football Fan

Yes, I also donated cash. I don't like it when it seems like events like these are an opportunity for travel companies to have the members of their loyalty program burn points or miles at a disadvantageous conversion rate.

esquesk

Agreed, the $25 for 5,000 is lower than the cash redemption rate. This is also significantly lower than their valuation for C+P.

Their initial contribution is a symbol of corporate social responsibility, however, the subsequent point redemption offer at a ... questionable... rate leaves a bad aftertaste.

hailstorm

Hyatt sent out a mass mailing that offered the following option for donating points to provide aid to Nepal:

I don't like ragging on a humanitarian effort, but they sell points at almost five times that rate, so this looks more like an effort to buy back points cheaply than an honest way of aiding Nepal...

DeltaFlyingProf

I usually think that donation via a corporation are a bad way to do things. For example, I'd rather give money directly to the red cross than let Wholefoods round up my bill in the name of a donation to an organisation not of my choice.
In this case, I'd rather give money than point. Better for all concerned.

JackE

Compare it to the cost to Hyatt when you redeem points for a stay. That could easily be lower than $25.

craigthemif

A slight misstep here. I'm sure well-meaning but still...

By all means do a corporate donation. Even offer to match contributions by HGP members. Since HR Kathmandu is a Cat 1 costing 5,000 points per night, you can even suggest that each donation of 5,000 points will cover the cost of 1 night's accommodation for an aid worker. (since Hyatt's own communications suggest that the hotel will become a base for aid workers) http://blog.hyatt.com/supporting-nepals-relief-efforts/

But please don't email your entire member database saying that 5,000 points is only worth $25 to you. Money that the aid organization might well spend staying at the Hyatt...

(trying to be helpful rather than cynical)

venguy

This was probably well-intentioned, but at this ridiculous conversion rate, it comes off as an organization trying to exploit the tragedy for cheap points buy back. DISGRACEFUL -- please don't try this again!!

Longtime reader, never posted on flyertalk. But this email really crossed the line for me...